Meet Yoel Israel — a man who never hesitates to strike up a conversation with strangers, and who believes those unexpected encounters might just be your most meaningful ones.
“The reason why I like to speak to strangers is because the conversations you have with strangers are different,” Israel told ILTV on a recent podcast. “People are more likely to open up to a stranger that they will never know or see again… The best conversations actually happen with strangers that you intend to be a stranger and never see again. That's where a lot of the magic, a lot of the intimacy and a lot of vulnerability — both that you can share and you can receive from someone else — that helps you grow comes from.”
Israel is the founder and CEO of Wadi Digital, a technology marketing firm that boasts more cybersecurity clients than any other similar company worldwide. His firm also has one of the highest employee retention rates in its sector.
“There's really high demand to come and work with us,” said Israel, who moved to Israel from Philadelphia. He explained that what sets his firm apart is not just marketing expertise but also exceptional customer service.
“Instead of bi***ing and lecturing, which many Anglo immigrants do, I thought the best way was to lead by example, to get other people exposed to it, and then hopefully they go and continue to give that service in their lives,” he said. “I found our competitors have stepped up their customer service and what people are expecting in the marketplace has gone up because of what we've been able to provide.”
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While his career consumes much of his time, Israel joined the ILTV Podcast to talk about his other passion: IsraelTech — a project aimed at bringing Israeli technology and hasbara (public diplomacy) to the masses through social media.
“Instead of bringing people traffic to our website, what we try to do is meet people where they are,” he explained. “It's our form of hasbara, of giving a positive message where people are, where we can engage great communities and all that.”
Israel currently runs 10 media platforms.
“That is my passion, and that is really my hobby,” he said. “I went ahead and built that, and building that is doing really well, and that's what I would be doing full time if I was able to make enough revenue to do that full time. We’ll be there very soon.”
Central to Israel’s philosophy is a principle he applies both personally and politically: Never defend yourself.
“This is why I created IsraelTech,” he said. “I wanted to create a positive vision, a positive voice for the world to see. You need to create your own content. You need to craft the messaging. If there is messaging coming against you, and if you use the terminology of those that want to destroy you, what you've done in persuasion is called talk past the sale.”
For example, he argued, if Israel is accused of genocide, the country should not waste time denying it. Instead, it should reframe the conversation around Hamas and Palestinian leaders, “who have been wanting genocide since the Mufti.”
“We should be talking about them in their genocidal ways. We should be creating our own message and never respond to lies. Let them be lies,” Israel stressed. “The best defense is a strong offense.”
In his view, 90% of false accusations should be ignored, and like in Judo, “take that energy and turn it around and attack back.”
Watch the full podcast:
PODCAST YOEL ISRAEL 02.10.25
(ILTV)
